Either you are one of the 250 million monthly Imgurians, or you probably have no idea what Imgur is. The site of jokes, inspiration, anecdotes and stories of coolness has long gone under the radar despite its massive size and $ 40 million funding from Andreessen Horowitz . But the part of the addictive image sharing community knows that there has always been a feature at the top of the request lists: favorite folders.
Today, after lengthy delays and a beta test, Imgur meets the wishes of the masses with the official launch of favorite folders on desktop, mobile, web, and its native applications. Now, rather than simply "fav-and-forget" the messages you want to save in a catch-all section of your profile, you can organize favorites in custom named folders. Users can even share the folders with others, much like the tips of the interstate.
This is a big problem as it changes Imgur from an image display and ranking site to a site where curators can assemble messages into useful compendia that might be of interest a larger audience that is not already on Imgur. These aggregations could be the funniest GIFs, the most beautiful aerial drone footage, the most inspiring weight loss before and after, or the best memes from Rick And Morty.
"It allows you to collect this magic from the Internet," says Imgur's founder and CEO, Alan Schaaf. "I think it's exploiting this basic human need and the real problem.When you find something you like, you want to back it up, you want to keep it." The imgurans not only have the ability to find the content that they want. They like, but also offer their favorite content to those who visit their profile. "
Why did it take years to launch something that seems simple enough? "I do not have a good answer for you, the fact is that it took longer than we would have liked." Users can long press the favorite "heart" on their mobile or click the "More" button on the Web to select the folder to add a bookmark to. "Privacy and Editing Controls are available in the user profile.
Imgur is filled with hysterical and informative images, but scattered across huge archives. And usually, once a publication is put online on the homepage or disappears into the user's submission pile, it slips into the dark forever. Favorite folders give old content to new legs. That's why we've seen other apps like Facebook and Instagram implementing their own bookmark folders.
By collecting, evaluating and highlighting the best articles of all users, the new wave of Imgur commissioners could make the application more accessible to those who have not yet experienced it . Schaaf says "You could be a recipe collector, a GIF creator, a Star Wars fanatic, a cosplay enthusiast," and your hard work could make the value of Imgur discover to people who do not have it. would not have done in the mail. ]
Growth is still good, all the while Imgur is developing its business with a growing sales staff. More users, more viewers for its sponsored publications and display ads. "We are on the road to profitability and do not need to raise money right now," notes Schaaf proudly. "We were primed.I ran a profitable business boostraped for 5 years, then raised $ 40 million from Andreessen Horowitz.It's in the DNA of the company." To be a well-managed and optimized company. "
Now over the age of 8, this means that Imgur could be on the way to an IPO. And favorite records could give him fodder to impress investors. It's easy to imagine the "best of" collections making great syndicated content for other websites or even print magazines, following Quora's footsteps on the Quora website.
Brands could pay to create their own sponsored favorites, avoiding them to try to look cool on their own. Netflix could make a record of its new shows or classic movies around a theme, attracting customers to Imgur's interior while promoting the app by publishing the collection elsewhere.
Previously simply known as the unofficial image host for Reddit, the two sites got into trouble last year when Reddit started hosting its own media. Both went through their challenges with unsavory community members, misogens and racism. But with a user base growing by only 80 million more than Twitter and new unique features, Imgur is proving to be a competitor in social media.
